The Goat
by viewing civilian
Summary: Every fighters got a dream. To be the best; the greatest there ever was, or will be. The mountain of greatness is steep, and not everyone can climb it. But, the one that climbs and the one that can survive, will emerge on a level beyond a normal athlete. Beyond even the extraordinary. Enter the Goat. MMA Naruto. Slight OOC. Some adult situations in future chaps. Strong Language
1. Chapter 1

**Alright boys (and girls, if there are any) this is something that's been in my head for awhile and i needed to get it out. So here it is! Just some forewarning, Naruto may be a bit out of character, but i'm ganna try to stay as true to him as possible. Also, this is set IRL, so there's that. I've found that it is rather intriguing to write and so far every story i've read with the same setting i've found largely enjoyable. hopefully , you'll find this enjoyable too!**

 **This story was inspired by 'Never Back Down' by fox sage123, which is pretty similar, so if you like this go ahead and check him out. Also, give AizenTheGoat a look if you haven't! He's got an absolutely killer NBA fic out that helped me finish this up. He's also got plenty of other stuff if you don't feel the IRL, so go show him some love if you got the time!**

 **Thats all ive got to say for now, so enjoy the first chapter and tell me what you think at the end!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own shit! All rights go to there respective owners!**

 **Early 2009**

Naruto walked leisurely through the hotel halls in London. He whistled a happy tune and put a little bit of bounce in his step as he walked into the elevator.

The young fighter was feeling great, he only needed to cut 2 pounds before he was on weight, with weigh-ins being tomorrow there was no better he could feeling. Not only that, but his training was going extremely well too. He felt fast, strong, and durable.

Dressed in a simple black tracksuit and sneakers, Naruto was headed out for a run. He didn't plan to let this bout go more than two rounds, but he'd prepare his cardio anyway.

Anything could happen in a fight after all.

 **Ding!**

The elevator sounded off, telling him he had reached his desired floor. The doors slid open and Naruto stepped through… Right into another person.

The new individuals belongings clattered to the ground. "Ah man, I was really looking forward to that…" a distinctly English feminine voice spoke

Naruto looked to the floor, a small to-go box lay face down on the floor. It's chocolate contents, splattered across the floor like a messy crime scene. Kneeling down he picked up the box and closed it.

"Sorry bout that, I can totally get you a new slice. The kitchen here bakes a pretty mean slice, at least that's what they told me." He looked into the eyes of the woman before him apologetically.

The woman had to look up a bit now that Naruto had stood up, she was quite few inches shorter than him. She smiled slightly back at him and shook her head, her brown hair whipping itself at the action. "No, that's ok. I probably shouldn't have gotten it anyway, maybe that was a sign?" She spoke kindly, but Naruto could clearly see disappointment.

" _Damn, now I feel bad."_ Before Naruto could speak up again, the woman stepped past him and pressed her floor number.

"Do me a favor and trash that for me? Thanks!"

"S-sure, no problem." With a quiet thanks, the doors slid shut and Naruto was left with a basically empty styrofoam box. Looking between the box and the brutalized cake on the floor Naruto sighed, " _I'd better get someone to clean this up."_

Naruto walked to the front desk and informed them of the mess in front of the elevator. The receptionist was kind with him and told him she'd get someone to handle it. She even offered to throw the box away for him. He happily agreed to that and handed over the box.

Having taken care of the problem, Naruto left the hotel lobby for his run. All the while, his mind on the pretty brunette he'd met and the cake he'd spilled.

Naruto shook his head of those thoughts, there were more important things for him to worry about now. Like his fight. Last thing he wanted was to get distracted right before a fight that would put him at 5-0.

Silently he decided; if he saw the woman again, he'd get her a slice of cake out of fairness. If he didn't see her, oh well. He offered, she declined. Nodding to himself, Naruto decided that was the best plan for the situation.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Move your head more! You wanna get the shit knocked outta you kid?!" Naruto shook his head at his coaches words. He'd been with this old man since the dawn of time, well his time at least. Old man Hiruzen had taken him off the street years ago, and drug him into the world of combat sports.

He hit the pads quick and dodged when the older man swung out. Hiruzen called out the combos he wanted, and Naruto threw them without fail. Loud smacks reverberated upon impact, but the teen felt like he could go faster and stronger.

Things had been going great so far. He finished his run but felt like he could do more. In response, his coach told him they could hit pads. Not only would it keep him sharp, but it would help cut that extra pound or two as well.

The two continued with their drill before a beeper went off. Naruto separated and took in several deep breaths as his coach debriefed him on his protégés performance.

"Ok we're done here. Listen you can drink some water, but no sodas, no punch, and no food. Got it? We can sweat off any remaining pounds tomorrow before the weigh in."

Naruto nodded his head at the coaches words. It sucked that he had to go to sleep hungry but he'd had worse weight cut experiences, so he'd survive. After that, the 17 year old was dismissed by his coach and left to his own devices.

Naruto looked at himself in the mirror of the gym, which conveniently, the hotel had inside it. It was quite spacious, which was what allowed him to do his drills in the first place.

The teen turned away from his reflection and sat down with his back against a wall. Bringing a gloved hand up, Naruto bit at the strings trying to loosen them up enough to take off.

It took him a couple of seconds, but he finally got a hand free. He used his now free hand and made quick work of the other glove.

"Ahh, me hands were getting hot in there…" He mumbled to himself. Naruto wiped his hands against his plain black shorts and simply sat silently, with his eyes closed.

After a minute or so, Naruto reached for his bottle of water. As he picked it up, he noticed the total lack of weight. A lone blue eye peeled open and confirmed his suspicion. He had finished his bottle of water, not a single drop remained.

"Oh well… I'll just go down to the bar and get a cup of water."

Having made his plan, Naruto placed his gloves and towel in a small backpack he brought with. After all his stuff was gathered, he stood up and started his trek to the bar. Naruto exited the gym, politely holding the door open for another man that walked in.

It wasn't long before he made it to his destination. By this point though he was beginning to feel a little self conscious. Everybody else in the room was very well dressed. He on the other hand stood in a black compressed long sleeve shirt, with matching compressed pants under a pair of black nike shorts with an neon orange check. He definitely wasn't dressed for the occasion.

"Hi! What can I get for you?" The Bartender asked kindly. The woman not noticing, or caring, for his current attire.

"Uh, just a cup of water please."

"No problem!" With that, the young woman departed, set on getting his cup of water.

Naruto placed his bag down and took a seat at the counter, no point in standing when he didn't have too. He swiveled back and forth a bit as he waited for his drink. Chatter and soft music pleasantly filled the background as Naruto sat alone.

"Oh, It's the cake killer!" A woman's voice spoke out. Naruto spun his chair around and saw it was the same woman from before.

Naruto smiled, "I thought I apologized for that?" The young man jokes back.

The brunette shrugged and took a seat to the left of him, leaving an empty seat between the two. He seemed like a nice kid, but you could never be sure these days.

"Who said I accepted it?" At that moment, the bartender came back with his water. She set it down and politely asked if there was anything else she could do.

"Actually, can I get a slice of chocolate cake?" She nodded and left to put the order in. Naruto looked over at the woman expectantly.

She nodded and leaned forward on the table, "Apology accepted." She said. She then turned to the bartender and ordered a martini.

As the tender mixed her drink for her, she turned to Naruto and extended her hand. "My names Emilia." She introduced herself.

Naruto gently took her hand, "Naruto." Emilia looked surprised at his name.

"I thought you were American, given the blond hair and blue eyes… And you're English is good. Not proper, but good."

"Oh no, I'm American. I'm from Texas actually, born and raised. My parents were Japanese though." He explained.

Emilia looked a bit excited at the mention of Texas, "Oh! Texas is with all the Cowboys right?"

Naruto laughed and nodded, "Well, yea. They're not so common anymore, but they're there." Emilia nodded slowly and took a sip of her Martini.

A silence lulled between the two, and just before it could be awkward, a warm slice of chocolate cake was set in front of him. Sitting right next to the cake, a generous scoop of ice cream. Naruto thanked the woman and she left.

Naruto slid the plate and utensils over to Emilia, "Have at it, this one's even got some ice cream with it!" The young man's mouth watered, it smelled delicious and it looked the part too. The presentation was on point.

Wasting no time, Emilia grabbed a spoonful of both the cake and ice cream. "Mmh! Delicious!" The warmth of the cake and the chill of the ice cream were just delightful! It seemed this place did have some great cake.

Emilia grabbed the complimentary extra spoon and held it out to the blond, "Would you like a taste? You're buying after all." She offered

Naruto held his hands up and shook his head, "Oh, I couldn't. I'm on a diet, thank you though." Emilia looked him up and down disbelievingly. Noting his trim and clearly fit appearance, due to the compressed clothing he wore.

"A diet? Please, you already look like you're in quite good shape."

Naruto laughed at the misunderstanding, "I'd love to, really, it looks _super_ good. But I've got a weigh-in tomorrow and can't be above a certain limit. I'm still a pound or two off. About one kilograms, by metric." He elaborated

The brunette made an 'o' face, "Oh. So you're a fighter of some sort then? You look a bit young to be fighting don't you?"

Naruto shrugged and answered, "I'm 17. in some places you've gotta be 18, in others you can be younger."

Emilia look at him surprised, she wasn't educated about all the rules but she would've thought, you had to be at least 18 years of age. Deciding she wasn't as informed on the matter, the woman decided that she'd leave it alone. "I see… Why come way out here, instead of staying in the states?"

Naruto swiveled his seat to face her, "I signed a contract. The organization I signed with, is having an event here and offered me a fight. I've always wanted to come to London and I needed a fight, so why not?"

"Wow, that's interesting. My brothers really into fighting. Boxing and that MMA stuff. He's actually going to see a fight this Saturday, I think." She took another scoop of desert as she finished.

"If that's the case, maybe I'll see him there? As far as I know, WFA is the only organization with an event this weekend."

The two talked a bit more, before Naruto got curious about her. "So, what are _you_ doing here. At the hotel I mean."

The woman smiled and responded happily, "I'm on a vacation. I just finished a job, in America funnily enough, and I took the plane back to London. My parents and brother met me here, and we've been vacationing together ever since"

Naruto looked interested, "America huh? What do you do?"

"I'm an actress." She spoke with pride as she saw the a surprise and admiration in the teens eyes.

"No way?! That's awesome. I wanted to be an actor, but I was absolutely horrible at it. They wouldn't even let me be in my elementary school play. Seriously, not even a tree."

They shared a laugh at that, before Naruto continued, "What were you filming, if I'm allowed to ask that."

A little bit of her pride shrank away, "It's a scifi movie, called Triassic Attack. I didn't have a very large role but it paid decent enough, and I get a certain amount every time they run it in tv…"

"That sounds good. What else have you been in?"

Emilia began to shrink back into herself. She didn't have a large filmography at the moment, and it was kind of embarrassing to her. The woman was trying to get herself started but it was becoming a struggle to find work. In fact, the only reason she got the Triassic part was because the original pick pulled out.

"Well, I've done some commercials, and I was in an episode of The Doctors…" Naruto could hear the enthusiasm leave her voice as the conversation carried on.

"Don't be so down about it, for all you know, this could be your breakout film!"

"You think so?"

Naruto nodded sagely, "Absolutely! Jennifer Aniston had Friends, and you'll have Triassic Attack."

"I think she had more than just Friends on her résumé…"

They shared a small laugh before Naruto checked his phone for the time. "It's getting pretty late, I should probably head out now… It was fun speaking with you Emilia. Good luck with your acting!" He said as he stood up.

"Good luck with your weigh-in."

Naruto thanked her and said his goodbyes, "See ya around!" With that said, he grabbed his bag and left the bar. He was beginning to feel the workout catch up with him, and his body was dying for some rest.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Official weight, 70.3 kilograms!" A rep from the athletic commission called out. 70.3 kilos was the equivalent to 155 pounds, so the young man was exactly on weight.

He flexed on the scale for a second, letting the small amount of press that was there get their photos. It was a bit odd letting people take pictures of him in his underwear, but he supposed this must be what's it's like to be a model.

As soon as the photographers got what they wanted, he gathered his discarded clothes and stepped off the scale. A worker pulled him to the far side of the room, where he'd weight for his opponent to finish weighing in.

It wasn't too much longer before, a Mexican man was escorted through the doors of the room. His head was shaved and his torso was littered with tattoos. The most distinguishing one being the large eagle he had across his chest.

"Official Weight, 70.3 kilograms!"

The older man flexed for the camera's before stepping off and walking to Naruto halfway for their face off. Naruto strode up and met him, as he came upon him he held his hand out as a sign of respect.

His opponent discarded his hand shake, instead he immediately squared up and put his lead fist in Naruto's face.

Naruto shrugged it off and entered his own southpaw stance. Naruto was taller, but the Mexican was noticeably thicker. No doubt he'd have pure strength advantage. But Naruto never counted himself out, he'd been told he hits deceptively hard. That coupled with his phenomenal defensive instincts, equaled a W in his eyes.

"Welcome to hell boy. You picked the wrong time to play Karate Kid. I'm ganna have fun separating your head from your shoulders."

With that the staredown ended and the Mexican strolled away, leaving Naruto alone. His trainer handed him some sweatpants and a hoodie, which he gladly put on. "What was that about?" The wrinkled man spoke

Naruto shrugged and answered as they were ushered out of the room, the main event still had to weigh in so they needed to leave. "I have no idea, he started talking smack out of nowhere."

The blond slipped on the provided clothes and stretched, "He can say what he wants, I'm not too worried about. Now let's get some food, I'm starved!"

He trainer laughed and patted him on the back, "That's the spirit boy! Tell you what, first meal's on me!"

Naruto's devilish grin soon had the old man re-thinking that statement, "Heh. If that's the case…"

" _Maybe I shouldn't have said that…?"_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto moaned as he rubbed his belly, "I think I ate too fast…" He had eaten 3 peoples worth of food. His coach looked somewhere between impressed and disgusted.

"With how much you eat, it's a miracle you can hit 155 so easy. Then again, you ain't done growing. You might not stay at 155 forever." He added that last part as an afterthought. Naruto stood respectably at 5'8.

He definitely wasn't the tallest in his weight class but he wasn't the smallest either, his opponent this Saturday being exhibit A. Naruto had already had his growth spurt, but that didn't mean he was finished growing. Hiruzen expected maybe an inch or two in height and maybe one in reach. Not that he needed his reach to grow. His protege had a freakish reach for his height, 73" at just 5'8?

Last he'd heard, reach was supposed to be equivalent to height. Naruto was five inches above that. But, some extra advantages never hurt. The fighter and coach would count whatever blessings they could get. Besides, chances are that the higher level they faced the longer reaches people would have. The coach sighed and decided he'd think about that stuff another day.

"Alright, I'm done here. Take my card and pay for all this once you've finished. No training or anything like that today, it'd do more harm than good to overwork ourselves today. Enjoy yourself kid! Go out, talk to some ladies! But no sex! I hear it's bad for stamina!"

Naruto stared at him amused as he popped his form in his mouth. "Well, thanks for the warning… And food."

The old man nodded, "You're welcome! Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some _reading_ to do." A perverted smile graced his face as he spoke.

The young protege looked unimpressed, "Yea, 'reading'. Get outta here you perv." Naruto air quotes the word reading as he mocked Hiruzen.

"Don't you judge me boy!"

Naruto lifted his hands mocking surrender, "No judgment here! None at all." He snickered to himself as the geezer excused himself. No doubt he was going to 'read' _that_ book.

Blue eyes rolled themselves, but then ultimately they fell onto a large cinnamon bun sitting neatly on a plate. Patiently, it waited to be devoured by its blond buyer. The bloated feeling that consumed the teen earlier, gone. Not even an inkling of it was left.

Naruto grabbed a fork and stabbed at the edge of the bun. He then grabbed a small knife and cut off a bite sized piece. "Mmh!" His eyes seemed to sparkle at the cinnamony goodness.

This was pure bliss. He learned how to appreciate food early on, but food never tasted better than after a weight cut. No more dieting, no more dehydrating. Just consumption.

Now that the first fight had been finished, it was time to move onto the fun part; the fight.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Fight Night**

Naruto stood in a waiting room, wearing a Nike t-shirt and his black fight shorts. At the moment, doing some basic drills with his coach. They were minutes away from his fight, the one before his just had to end first.

The teen didn't do anything too strenuous or tiring, just some minor pad work and shadow boxing. A knock at the door stopped his movements and a stadium worker poked their head in.

"Mr. Uzumaki, it's time. Please follow me." He spoke.

The teen nodded and his team followed him out of the door. Naruto could hear Hiruzen talking, probably giving him tips and reminders, but he easily tuned the old man out. Instead, he was clearing his mind of any thoughts or emotions.

They came upon an opening that led into the stadium. The worker stopped them and told them they'd signal when to go.

Naruto took a breath and opened his icy blue eyes. " _It's game time."_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The Clarke family sat giddily in their seats, or the boys did at least. The last fight was an exciting one, a real slug fest, if a bit bloody. Emilia and her mother weren't really into fighting, but they could be entertained by a good scrap every now and then. If they had to choose though, they prefer boxing. It just seemed less violent and significantly less bloody.

"This is a lot more bloody than boxing, huh? Are they always like that?" Emilia asked her brother, who was still hyped up on adrenaline from the last fight.

The man shrugged, "Not all of them, that one was particularly bloody. I think it looks worse than it is, especially since we're so close!" The family had gotten luckily and sat five rows back from ringside, so they had some pretty good seats.

Emilia nodded and turned to her mother, "Are you enjoying yourself, Mum?" She asked. She knew her mother didn't like things that were violent, heck, the woman looked away when people got physical in football **(the rest of the world kind)**.

The woman smiled slightly at her daughter, "Well I can't say I enjoy watching people beat each other, but I'm not bored if that's what you're asking."

"If it makes you feel better dear, it's really very safe. They've got doctors everywhere and the refs jump in as soon as necessary." Her husband rubbed her shoulder, trying to give her comfort.

His wife wasn't a fan of combats sports, but she enjoyed spending time with the family. His daughter on the other hand, seemed to enjoy boxing. So mma was really hit or miss, he imagined it would take the right kind of fight to gain her interest.

Before he could make any conversation, the lights dimmed and a bit of The Notorious B.I.G blasted through the speakers.

 **Your reign on the top was short like leprechauns As I crush so-called willies, thugs, and rapper-dons**

The packed stadium cheered as the song hyped them up and the fighter made his walk to the octagon. From her spot, Emilia could see fans leaning over into the provided lane showering the fighter in pats and praise as he walked by.

Soon enough he arrived at the side of the octagon and a ref checked him over, making sure he had a mouth piece and cup. Emilia took notice of his large, distinctive chest tattoo. If she was honest he looked a bit intimidating, it made her glad she was glad she was just a spectator.

The refs cleared the Mexican fighter and he entered the octagon, circling it to get feel. The man made a few trips around before he settled into his side of the octagon. His team settling into his corner beyond the cage, making sure they were prepared for the fight.

Bouncing on the balls of his feet the Mexican did some light shadow boxing, keeping his muscles warm. As he waited for his opponent to enter the octagon, the lights dimmed once again and the walk out song played.

Only this one was much more iconic and crowd engaging, Emilia noticed.

 **Boom Boom Ch! Boom Boom Ch! X4**

By this time, what must've been the whole stadium, stomped and clapped in sync with the classic song. Even the Clarke's did so, to get into the spirit of things.

 **Buddy, you're a boy, make a big noise Playing in the street, gonna be a big man someday You got mud on your face, you big disgrace Kicking your can all over the place (singing)**

Naruto walked out of the tunnel, face stoic but deeply engaged. Fight fans reached over barriers as he walked by, he clapped his hands against theirs in appreciation. The teen even felt somebody pat his head.

" **We will, we will rock you We will, we will rock you"**

What must've been the whole stadium sang it, Emilia wondered if one could hear it blocks away. Looking toward the trail the fighter was to take, the actress noticed a familiar head of blond hair.

"Hey, I know that guy! He's staying at our hotel!" Emilia spoke over the roaring of the crowd to her mother.

The woman looked back at her daughter amused, "Really now? He seems very charismatic, the crowd loves him!" She said in reference to the backing the song gave him.

Emilia felt a tap on her shoulder, she turned around to meet her brother, "That's the guy you were talking to at the bar right?" He shouted in surprise. This crowd was going crazy, they could feel the vibrations in their feet and chest.

She nodded at her brother and leaned in, "Yes, I was just telling Mum that! He told me he was a fighter but I figured he'd be on earlier before we came, not on the main card…!" The woman had thought he'd be on the undercard and possibly an opener. Those tended to have the least amount of crowd cause they were the least well known fighters. Given his age, she figured that's exactly where he'd be.

"That's bonkers! You've gotta introduce me if he wins!"

Emilia rose an eyebrow and giggled, "What if he loses?" She received no answers and rolled her eyes. Looking over she watched Naruto take his shirt off, leaving him only in his plain black vale tudo shorts with a neon orange monster emblem on his left leg.

He seemed a bit different than he did when they met. Though she supposed that would be normal, he was getting ready to step into a cage with another man. That mindset must be very different.

Well, she hoped he didn't lose. He seemed like a nice guy when they met, and he seemed to connect with the fans. More than the other guy did at least, the Mexican shrugged off the fans as opposed to Naruto's embracing.

Emilia watched the teen circle the octagon, not unlike his opponent did before him. As he walked around the cage he lifted his hands up in the air, palms open, gesturing to the fans.

A roar of approval met his actions and Naruto settled into his corner. The teen leaned into the fence and let it bounce him forward. As he did this a well dressed man trotted to the center of the octagon, with a microphone in hand.

" **Ladies and gentlemen! Tonight we have a lightweight bout. Introducing first; in the blue corner! We have a mixed martial artist with a professional record of 7 wins and 2 losses. He stands at 5'7", weighing in at 70.3 kilos. Fighting out of California, USA! Presenting, 'El Jefe' Santiago Ramírez!"**

Santiago stepped forward and raised a hand, the crowd cheering in response, before he stepped back. The announcer mimicked the same lines for Naruto, changing up the height, weight, and origins fittingly. When finished, the ref signaled the two to the center of the octagon.

The two met with a referee in the middle of them, having a final face off. "Alright boys, here's how it is. Protect yourself at all times. And obey my commands at all times. We've reviewed the rules in your dressing rooms, let's have a good clean fight. If you wanna touch gloves touch them now." The ref gave the typical pre fight instructions before he backed up.

Naruto put his hands up to touch gloves, but Santiago had no intentions of touching up. The teen didn't let it bother him and instead backed up to his corner, ready for the fight to start.

"ARE YOU READY?!" the ref asked both parties and both nodded.

The blond stood patiently, as cool blue eyes stalked his opponent. This man was ganna get mauled.

 **Ding ding!**

"FIGHT!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

It was a very odd sensation, Emilia thought. Typically, the young woman was never too emotionally invested in fight. Sure she had a favorite to win, but never had she not wanted to see someone lose. She just wanted to see a good, competitive, fight. Till now at least.

The fact that she knew the guy, even a little bit, who was in the cage fighting was surreal. It left her giddy, yet anxious. He was nice enough, and that last thing she wanted was to see the teenager get beat to hell.

Emilia gasped as Naruto slipped a punch and backed off a bit. " _Close one!"_ She thought. She then winced as the two traded punches, though they didn't seem to be too damaging.

From her side, her brother nudged with an elbow. "Come on, don't be so scared! He looks skilled, and he'll get paid even if he loses!"

That little tidbit didn't really relax the woman, but she still thought she might as well enjoy the match. It'd be an insult to the fighters after all.

So, biting back the odd anxious feeling, she cheered as Naruto landed a nice hook.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto breathed steadily as he slipped and countered his opponents straight right. The man seemed to have trouble adjusting to his southpaw stance and unorthodox striking. But despite knowing he had this advantage, Naruto was patient. He wouldn't just bum rush the guy and get caught, he was smarter than that.

Naruto threw a jab, that landed dead center on Santiago's nose. He went to follow up with a straight left but pulled back at the last moment, dodging a wild hook and repositioned himself. The teen could hear his adversaries fist tear through the air. It was a menacing sound, but it didn't bother him.

Santiago followed his hook with a heavy leg kick to the outside of Naruto's lead leg. A loud smack echoed through the stadium. Due to a fair amount weigh being on said leg, Naruto stumbled a bit but quickly was able to set back in his stance.

" **OOH!"** The crowd and Santiago's corner cheered and praised the kick. The man himself, even looked satisfied with the strike.

As he stalked him, Naruto looked him in the eyes and shook his head, telling the man his kick was ineffective.

"You sure?!" Santiago spoke

Naruto nodded, "Absolutely. Here, try it again!" The teen stopped talking him and patted the outside of his thigh, gesturing Santiago to kick him again.

The Mexican bit his mouthpiece in frustration, " _This arrogant little prick!"_ He tried to catch the blond off guard with a switch kick to the head.

Naruto saw it coming from a mile away and easily leaned back, letting the strike fly uselessly. The spectators ooh'ed and awe'd at the verbal and physical exchange.

"You've got three minutes Naruto! Stay patient, and pick your strikes!" He heard Hiruzen yell. Mentally filing that away, Naruto feinted a left.

Santiago reacted and lifted his hands up, which left an opening up in his stomach. Naruto capitalized and smashed his lead fist into the belly and followed it with an rear over hand.

Santiago's head snapped back like a bobble head and he stumbled back into the fence. The crowd went wild, and Naruto's heart began to race. The ref sprinted in ready to stop the fight at a moments notice.

Naruto closed the distance and threw a lunging rear left hook with all his weight on his front foot. He rotated his hips effortlessly and transferred all his weight from his fist into Santiago's skull. He could practically feel the man's brain rattle around inside his head.

Like a puppet cut from its strings, the Mexican fighter crumpled lifelessly to the floor in a tangled heap of limbs. The ref immediately put himself between Naruto and Santiago, to stop any more damage from occurring.

The crowd went absolutely wild, the whole stadium shook with excitement. Naruto ran to one side of the cage and sat atop with one leg on each side of the fence.

"YOU FUCKING ROCK KID"

"YOU KILLED THAT MOTHERFUCKER, HE IS DEAD!"

"YOU DA BEST!"

Praises from ringside were shouted, and Naruto showered himself in it with a smile. He raised his hands up embracing the crowd, and they in turn embraced him.

It wasn't long before, he was pulled off and stood in the center of the ring with the ref.

" **Ladies and Gentlemen! The referee has called a stop to this fight just 2:30 into the very first round! For the winner, by Knockout, NARUTO UZUMAKI!"**

 **END!**

 **Chapter one is done boys (and girls, if there are any here).**

 **This is my take on an irl Naruto being an mma fighter. I'm ganna do my best to have fights be as competitive as possible without it getting confusing or without making him seem op or something. He's definitely got weak points and once we start facing high level comp, it'll be exposed.**

 **Now as for a pairing, there are INFINITE possibilities. We could do real people, animated people, all that good stuff. Personally leaning more towards celebs. If you didn't realize before, Emilia is indeed Emilia Clarke. I've been a fan of hers for awhile and honestly she's in here as a bit of a fail safe. She could be a close celebrity friend of Naruto's, or maybe a future love interest. Who knows?! Anyways, I'm certainly up for suggestions so don't be afraid to let me know what you're thinking.**

 **Suggestions go for structure too, as in the fight scenes or even character interactions. I re-did the fight scene a couple of times, all of which I enjoyed but didn't know if it would read the same way i envisioned. I also read over the character interactions and couldn't help but cringe just a little. Unfortunately that's my level as of now, but hopefully we get better as we go on!**


	2. The Original

**Alright guys, so unfortunately not really a chapter two update… sorry! BUT! This is the scenario I wrote that really inspired the start this story, I wrote it even before I did chapter 1. As the dust settles of what happened at UFC 229, I thought I'd let y'all see that I PREDICTED some wild shit to happen.**

 **Originally I based this on Tj and Cody's beef, so things won't really line up with the chapter one. Consider it something of a very short one-shot.**

 **In this iteration, Naruto had originally been training at AKA. But as he grew bigger and bigger, he just didn't feel that AKA was the place for him and abruptly left the gym to train with the man that introduced him to mma, Hiruzen Sarutobi.**

 **Obviously AKA didn't appreciate that, and had a few hurtful choice words to say about the situation. And Khabib being a man the prided himself on loyalty, saw his once close friend as a 'traitor'.**

 **That's basically the gist of the relationships between them in this scenario.**

Naruto's chest heaved up and down, doing everything it could to get air into his lungs. The 25 year old could feel the bags of ice placed in his chest. Normally he would have shivered at such contact, but that was the farthest thing from his mind.

"Keep your distance, you can't keep letting him take you to the ground like that! Even if you're working from the bottom, he's getting more damage off and winning these rounds!"

Naruto stated across the cage at his opponent. The undefeated dagestani, Khabib Nurmagomedov. The one that would end him, they said. The one that would 'expose' him.

"You're down 2-1, you have to win these last two rounds! Or knock him out, do you understand?!

The cut-man tilted his head so he could apply some Vaseline to a cut he'd gotten from a nasty elbow.

Even from his skewed vision Naruto could see Khabib staring at him from across the cage. Screaming some shit he couldn't understand.

He chuckled for a second and then shook his head, "What do you call a bear with no teeth?" He asked his team.

Hiruzen looked at him like he was the dumbest motherfucker he'd ever seen, "What, is that a fucking joke? I don't wanna hear a fucking joke! I wanna hear AND STILL!" He shouted

"A gummy bear." As he said that, the ref began to clear out the corner men Naruto stood across from Khabib. A wide smile on his face and blood trailing down the side of his face made him seem mad.

Despite the circumstances, Naruto loved this feeling of chaos and he loved punching this fool in the mouth for everything he said. He lived for this shit.

The bell rang, beginning round 4. It was hardly audible, over the roaring stadium they were in. The biggest fight in UFC history, they called it. The undefeated collide.

Naruto rushed out of his corner and took the center of the octagon. Khabib came out slower, but just as eager to continue fighting.

As Khabib step forward, Naruto threw an intercepting sidekick to the body. His heel dug ruthlessly into the undefended belly.

He heard Khabib grunt and back off, but visibly, the Russian didn't take much damage. "Oooou, you've got a soft belly!" The blond spoke.

Khabib shook his head, "No hurt." His broken English made it laughable.

Naruto took the chance to quickly shoot in and land a lead uppercut, followed quickly by a straight. His opponents head snapped back, and he responded with a wild hook. The champs reflexes were quick enough to pull back and he suffered no damage.

However, this left him susceptible to a take down, which Khabib would never leave unchallenged. The grappler shot in faster than one would expect and successfully hooked one arm around a leg.

Naruto scrambled and roughly yanked his leg from its entrapment. Khabib wasn't one to give up, so he pursued even further for the take down. This time shooting for a double.

The younger man was able to stop the take down by lowering his hips putting his arms under Khabibs and pulling him up. By this time they were against the cage, Naruto used his under hooks to reverse their position so that it was Khabib against the fence instead of him.

Faintly he could hear the shouting of his former coach Javier, from AKA. They were right in the enemy's territory but even then the crowd drowned out his garbled nonsense.

Pressing his body against Khabibs to hold him there for a second, Naruto turned to his former team, "Fuck you!" He disconnected and made just enough space to smash Khabib in the chin with a hellacious uppercut. The Dagestani didn't even see it coming.

His brain wobbled dangerously, and he stumbled forward trying to clinch and stay standing. Naruto saw his weakness and backed up staring at him calculatingly. His blue eyes were opened wide and pupils shrunk to the size of pinpoints in concentration, absorbing every detail presented to him.

It was a frightening sight if you could properly see it. Like a predator getting ready to strike.

Time seemed to move in slow motion for both fighters. Khabibs vision was blurry, but he could clearly make out Naruto's large imposing figure. And for the first time in his life, he saw something he didn't think he could beat. For a split second, he felt helpless and then it all went dark.

For Naruto, nothing ever looked clearer. He could see all the openings, all small movements made to cover himself up. He also saw the brief second of doubt cross his opponents features. So, picking his shot, Naruto threw.

A feinted jab, followed by a brutal left hook that caught Khabib on the slip and landed flush on the jaw. Khabib clattered to the canvas, his limbs loosely trying to protect his head, and Naruto followed him down with a falling straight.

It slipped directly through Khabib's hasty defense and dribbled the russians head between his fist and the canvas. He only got two more in before the ref shoved him away and called the fight. The stadium went wild, his corner went wild.

The build up to this fight was littered with personal shots at him, his family, and his friends. Acting on nothing but emotion and adrenaline, he ripped his mouthpiece out ran to the AKA corner and screamed at them.

"Fuck you! I'm the real champ!" He shouted, grabbing onto the cage like roughly.

"Champ?! You're not shit, not even your own family wanted you, you orphaned bitch!" One of Khabib's team shouted

Naruto bristled in rage and shrugged off one of the many security guards that had to come and escort him back to his corner. Faster than they could react the blond jumped the cage and dove directly into Khabib's corner.

The stadium shook and the crowd went bezerk. The area Naruto jumped into turned into an all out brawl and extended out into the crowd, forming a small scale riot.

Naruto got a few good licks in, but ultimately it was him versus a whole team. Luckily, what seemed like hundreds of security yanked him from the madness, kicking and screaming.

"It's not fucking over! This is never over, you hear me?!" Naruto held his right fist up, almost like he was presenting a head, and stuck his tongue out antagonizingly. A gesture of victory.

It took forever for security to get everyone separated and the fighters back in the octagon, in the madness Khabib had jumped into Naruto's corner to get some hits in as well.

The night ended up being a total fiasco. It was unbecoming of professional athletes. But the numbers they did were astronomical. There's was only two people that could generate the kind of gate Naruto could.

Conor McGregor and Muhammad Ali. One was basically retired, having not fought in almost a year and a half, and the other was dead.

As they clamored everyone inside the octagon again, there was hardly any room to move with all the security inside.

Getting it as settled as it could be, Bruce Buffer called the fight. **"Ladies and gentleman, the winner by way of knockout… AND STIIIIIILLLL, UNDISPUTED UFC LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD, NARUTO UZUMAAAAAKII."**

 **END!!**

 **Crazy shit eh? I almost feel like a fortune teller, I even ended it in round 4, though this was KO and irl it was a sub. Anyway, You wouldn't believe how crazy it was to see this actually happen with Conor and Khabib in real life. I was appalled, yet excited. 229 will always be legendary.**

 **Now that that is done with, I'm happy to tell y'all that I'll be coming out with chapter 2 within a couple of days. I hate to be the author that uploads a chapter and abandons, so I refuse to be that! I've just been trying to make the dialogue and direction seem natural and not forced, but I can't be perfect unfortunately. I realize that.**

 **This fight was actually the scene I was basing the whole story around, so now it's kind of pointless. BUT, I have plenty of other plot points that I had wanted to do. So maybe we see a version of this in the real story, or maybe we see something totally different! I'm not sure. If you'd rather see a full fleshed out arc with these two pitted against each other, LMK! If not, who should he go against, McGregor? T Ferg?**

 **Also I'm aware that I made it look like Naruto was untouchable. I'll be fixing that. He's good but he's only human.**


	3. II

**Yo!**

 **Im back, as promised, if not a bit late. Sorry bout that. Anyhow here's this next chapter, I hope you can get with it!**

 **Please excuse the grammatical and spelling mistakes I've made, I type this stuff up on my phone so it's not always the most accurate keystrokes. There's definitely ganna be some shit I missed, but I've read through it like three times so it should be at least readable.**

 **Anyway, let's get on with it!**

 **Disclaimer: I literally own nothing.**

Naruto woke up feeling like a million bucks, still feeling fresh off the win from the previous night. He separated himself from the cozy bed the hotel provided and went to the bathroom to wash-up. The teen gave his reflection a long stare, before splashing some cold water across it.

His face was still red and slightly bruised from the small amount of punches he did take. Santiago may have been shorter, and may not have been as fast as Naruto, but the man had certified bricks for hands. The cool water soothed the minor throbbing and he groaned in pleasure.

As he did his morning rituals, a knock sounded through the room. With a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth, Naruto peeked through the peephole.

Recognizing who it was he swung the door open, "Yo! Whatcha got for me?" He asked, though it didn't come out so clear.

The old man chuckled and handed him an envelope, "Your check."

Naruto tossed it on the table. Quickly, he ran to the bathroom and spit out the toothpaste before racing back to the table. "Don't rip the check trying to open the envelope!" The old man teased.

Naruto gave a sarcastic laugh, before tearing the end open and sliding the check out. Taking a look at the check amount a disappointed expression painted his face.

"Two grand? That's it? No performance bonus? That was easily KO of the night right?" He asked Hiruzen.

The old man nodded, "That includes win bonus kid. It was 500 to show, another five to win, and then you got an extra thousand as performance bonus."

The sight of the check, had visibly brought his mood down. "Well, if I spend it right, it should be ok. Thank god plane tickets are already paid for. Hopefully this hotel won't fuck me over though… I need money for rent, groceries, and I still need to pay the Garza's for watching Sara..."

Hiruzen clapped his shoulder in comfort, "Well, you've always got a place at the gym. There's a room in the attic that's always open, for you and your sister." The old man knew he wouldn't take the offer. Naruto was just too prideful, but he'd always let him know there was a place for him.

"I'll keep that in mind Old Man. I should probably go deposit this, they've got American banks here don't they?" He inquired

"I'm pretty sure I saw a Bank of Americas somewhere." Hiruzen shrugged and then walked to the door. He opened it, but turned back to say one last thing, "Hey, don't worry about the money right now. Keep putting in your work and I'm sure it'll all pay off! I promise you." With that said, he shut the door and let the fighter sit with his thoughts.

"How can I not worry, this is prize fighting isn't it?"

With a sigh, Naruto dropped that line of thought. He knew that things would be fine, he just had to be smart with his money.

Having made a plan for the day, Naruto leisurely got dressed. He wore a simple black long sleeve with the word 'Killa' printed in yellow across his chest, with casual blue jeans and orange Nike sneakers.

Picking up his check, he put it in his wallet and slid it into his pocket. He grabbed any other necessities and was off to start his day. Hopefully it'd be easier to find a bank than he thought.

He woke up feeling like a million bucks, but now he felt more like two grand.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto scratched his cheek as he looked over the map he asked for at the service desk. He hadn't the slightest clue what he was looking at. He didn't know any of the street names, and he doubted he'd remember. Why not take that map, one may ask? Unfortunately, they wouldn't let him leave with it. It was 'hotel property', according to the front desk at least.

"Damn, I'd take a taxi but I don't have any pounds or form of payment besides my card…" he'd lucked out that this particular hotel took USD as well as British currency. Unfortunately that wasn't the case everywhere.

So, with a sigh Naruto returned the map and left the hotel. Hopefully the bank wouldn't be too hard to find. The teen straightened his shirt and walked out of the building.

He hadn't taken three steps before he was swarmed by a crowd of people.

"Naruto Uzumaki?! That fight was nuts! Would you mind signing this for me?" A man asked.

Naruto was frozen for a second. He'd signed the occasional autograph every now and then, but he'd never had a crowd for him. London seemed to be a hotspot for him.

Quickly recovering, he smiled and grabbed the pen and poster, "Sure! Who do I make it out to?"

The man responded and Naruto finished his signature, before moving onto the next person and then the next. It was all fairly similar, except for a photo every now and then.

The crowd seemed to be never ending, and while Naruto certainly appreciated the love, he did have things he needed/ wanted to do. The only problem was, he didn't know how to disengage without seeming like a douche.

Suddenly though a finger tapped his shoulder, "Excuse me, Mr. Uzumaki. You're ganna be late for a meeting, if we don't leave soon!"

Naruto turned, and made eye contact with a familiar face. "O-oh Emilia, right! Sorry you guys but I've really got to go, I'll see you around!" With that said he and his savior broke away from the crowd.

The two turned a corner, and Naruto took a breath. "Thanks for that, I was looking to deposit my check and then got swarmed. I didn't really have time to plan an exit strategy…"

"It's quite alright, things looked a bit intense back there."

"Yea, it was surprising. Really didn't expect it, if I'm honest!"

Emilia smiled, "Why not? You put on quite the performance last night, it may have been a round 1 KO, but it was easily the most entertaining fight of the night! I'm actually surprised that you look like you've been in a fight, that guy hardly hit you!"

Naruto blinked in surprise before he composed himself, "Oh! I'm glad you enjoyed it! And well, he may not have hit me much, but he hit really hard." The blond traces his hand over the faint bruises on his face.

Emilia hummed in response, the two settled into a short silence before she spoke again. "Would you mind if I asked you a question?"

"Hm, shoot."

"Why fighting?"

Naruto chuckled a bit, before scratching his cheek, a nervous tick he'd picked up over the years. "Well originally, it was for the money."

Emilia blinked at the simplicity of it, it was really that simple?

"You see, it's been just me and my little sister for a while now. So it's always fallen on me to take care of her. I'd made money doing odd jobs or landscaping but, there was these guys that ran a, sort of, underground street fighting thing after school. There was a decent amount of money to be made there, and I'd been in more than my share of fights, growing up in a pretty shady neighborhood. I actually ended up making more in one night fighting, than I did an entire month waiting tables."

"Oh…" The actress didn't really know how to respond. She hadn't expected his history to be so somber and she couldn't really relate. Her family may not have been wealthy, but there was never a sense of poverty.

"Sorry…" The teen apologized sheepishly, "I didn't mean for this to come off like a sob story."

Emilia shook her and waved her hands, "No! Don't be, I asked… So that's it, it's about the money?"

Naruto smiled once again and shook his head, "Unfortunately, money doesn't seem to be as good here, as it was unsanctioned. Ass backwards if you ask me. I only made 2 thousand for last night, and that includes performance bonus. I thought this was supposed to be prize fighting?"

"Wow… that's not even half what I made on a small part of an indie film." Emilia thought. "Then why do you still do it? Surely there are other things you can do, maybe an office job part-time until you get your diploma?"

Naruto shook his head no, "I dropped out of school awhile ago. I've gotta pay for rent, food, and clothes someway right? School was taking my working hours."

Emilia stayed silent this time, not knowing if there was anything she could say to help his seemingly poor situation.

Naruto looked over and noticed her conflicted expression, "Don't be so down about it. Trust me, if I really didn't wanna be doing this, I wouldn't be."

Emilia looked back up to the taller teen, "It's true that I started this for money, and ultimately this is how I pay for mine and my sisters needs. But this has become my obsession, I'm in love with this sport. My pride won't settle for becoming anything less than the best now."

The actress stared at him in utter admiration. The way he spoke made her feel that it was only inevitable that his words ring true.

Naruto blushed when he realized that he was rambling, "Sorry, I didn't mean to preach…"

"No, I admire your confidence. I hope you won't mind if I steal some for myself."

Naruto smiled back, recognizing that she understood and respected where he was coming from. No doubt that she had similar dreams in her field of profession. Who knows, maybe his mindset could push her in new directions.

"Now, I heard you mention that you were looking to deposit a check? Do you even know where the bank is?"

"Ahaha, no… I, uh, I don't." He admitted awkwardly.

Emilia smile brightly, "Well you're in luck! I'm free, and just so happen to know the nearest bank! You do owe me lunch though!"

"Deal!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It had been roughly an hour and a half since Emilia lead Naruto to the nearest bank. As it turned out, he could just cash his check for USD and then deposit that via atm. Which luckily, his hotel had plenty of.

Not long after that, Emilia offered to be a sort of guide for the blond. He'd stated that in hopes of preparation for this fight, he'd forgone any kind of sightseeing. The young woman refused to allow him to miss any of the beautiful sights her country had to offer!

Currently though, the two sat comfortably in a small diner. Super friendly staff and the food wasn't half bad either. It was a very comforting atmosphere.

After that, the old man near lost it! Ever since then I've never been allowed in the gym unsupervised!"

Emilia erupted into a fit of giggles as she listened to Naruto recall the time he painted everything, including equipment, in his gym orange.

"Ahem-Forgive me, it's hard to believe that you had time to do all that!"

Naruto scoffed and smiled, "Oh, I've got pictures to back it." Naruto flashes his phone to the woman across from him teasingly. Just as he did so his phone lit up with a notification.

"Oh, you've got a message." Emilia told him

Naruto rose his eyebrow and flipped the phone around to face him, it was an Instagram notification. Sliding the little icon he opened directly to the notification. It was a tagged photo of him punching his opponent, from last night, in the face. The frame captured exactly the moment that his fist turned Santiago's head, it was humorous really. The caption read, 'Mates head nearly exploded. Great fight @NUzumaki!'

Naruto smiled and liked the photo, looking up slightly he spotted Emilia's curious eyes.

"What was it, if you don't mind me asking?"

The blond shook his head and showed her the photo, "A fan tagged me in a post, normally I have notifications off but this is a new phone. I haven't really had time to set it all up."

"Aww, that's so nice! Well not the guy getting hit, but you know what I mean..." Her eyes wandered the screen, "So is this like Facebook?"

Naruto chuckled and hummed, "Kind of, except you don't have to be friends with someone to see their posts. It's really more similar to twitter, but it's focused on pictures, you can't just post words."

Emilia oh'ed and nodded, "Ah, so it's something of a blog then?"

"Exactly, you don't have one?"

The woman shook her head negatively, she'd never really been one for social media.

"Huh, wouldn't have expected that. You're super friendly and outgoing, I bet you'd gain a lot of followers fast. Not to mention, as an entertainer, it's probably a smart move to make."

The got her curious, looking a bit more interested Emilia questioned the teen, "How so?"

"Well considering as entertainers, what really makes us shine, are our fans. Using social media, you can grow a large and loyal fanbase. I imagine that looks good when you go in for an audition or your manager pitches you to a producer. Not that your acting skills won't matter, but I'm sure it's helpful to have numbers behind you. Not to mention, it's a great marketing tool."

Seeing the woman nod in understanding, but still looking slightly lost, Naruto decided to explain how it played in his favor, "Like, for me, the more tickets I can sell to my fights the more money I get. There's a link pinned to my profile bio and whenever I sell a ticket from there I get a piece of it. It's also actually how I got my first sponsorship!"

Emilia blinked owlishly, she never really thought that things like that could really be of much use practically. But here, she was proven wrong. "Wow! That sounds amazing, how much followers do you have?"

"Hmm, right now, 14K? It grows steadily, who knows, maybe one day I'll get a million?" He jokes.

"14 Thousand?! That's quite a lot already no?"

"Ehh, it's pretty good I imagine but there's plenty of people with more! Honestly, it'd be a good idea to look into. And I'll tell you what, when you make one, I'll be your first follower!"

Emilia smiled, "I think I'll take you up on that!"

The two lulled into a short silence before their waitress brought them their check, and as promised, Naruto took care of it. Or was it Hiruzen…?

"Hehe, sorry old man. But you did leave your card with me!"

"Alright! Now that lunch is taken care of what's say we go see some more sights, London's fantastic!"

"Oh sure, I'll show you my old drama school! It's actually pretty close to here, funny story how I got in though."

"Oh really? Story time then."

The duo left the diner, the chilly air not even bothering them as they lost themselves in conversation.

Ah… What a great feeling it was to have a friend. Naruto couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so relaxed. He had no worries at the moment, not about his sister, not about money. Right now he was just enjoying conversation and the beautiful architecture of London.

Right now he was sure, he loved it here.

 **Donzo**

 **Truly sorry for the long wait y'all. And for a chapter that's not even long. Believe me, I understand how frustrating it is to wait on a story and have it be short.**

 **BUT, hopefully things can start moving along faster. Personally I find starting things off to be the hardest, so hopefully with the end of this I can really start to get into the swing of things. Next chapter starts with a small time skip so that I can get onto the next fight.**

 **We'll have maybe one two more fights here before I move into the UFC and things start to REALLY roll.**

 **Now onto something else… Naruto's got a sister? Whaaaat….? Originally I had Menma in mind as a younger brother by a couple of years. However, I really thought that a sister would help me out more in the long run. Didn't really feel like 'Naruko' was an appropriate name either, so I chose Sara which apparently means Fortune in Japanese. I'm not sure, I liked it so I picked it.**

 **Also, i plan to have some characters from Naruto be in the gym. Not a whole lot, but just some familiar names to have around. And again, don't really have a pairing decided so don't be afraid to drop a suggestion in that review section. Never hurts to have a few ideas thrown my way.**

 **That's about it y'all, hope you enjoyed this one! I plan to have the next one out in about a week or so, but don't quote me on that!**

 **Catch you next time!**


	4. III

**Yo! Back at it again her with this next chapter. Wish it was longer, but I didn't want it to feel forced.**

 **As always, please excuse any grammatical errors I've made. I'm no English major, nor have I ever claimed to be. Just a boy that likes to write a bit every now and then.**

 **Anyhow, enjoy it for what it is y'all.**

 **Disclaimer: Still own nothing.**

Naruto grunted as his back clashed against the fence of the octagon. He lowered his center of gravity and spread his legs out to break any grip his partner had on the back of his legs. He landed a couple of light punches on the face of the headgear, before he started having to actively defend the takedown more aggressively.

"That's it Saiba! Grind him out and stay aggressive!"

The man he sparred, Saiba, was smart and heeded his coaches advice, quickly transitioning from a double leg takedown, to a single leg. Turning sharply and using the cage as a foothold, he blasted into Naruto's waist and toppled him.

"Scramble and jump to side control!" One of the coaches shouted

The blond teen wouldn't make it so easy though and scrambled himself once his back hit the floor. Using one hand to push Saiba's head off and away from him, the other planted on the ground to help pull himself from the trap. Naruto was able to hop to a foot and yank his captured leg from captivity.

Naruto breathed in heavily, and made some space between him and Saiba. The older of the two stalked after him on the floor, but Naruto waved him up with his hands.

"Get up." He spoke as a bent his knees and raised his hands. Saiba obliged and rose to his feet, ready to resume the spar.

Naruto extended his lead hand probing into the guard, he flashed his left hand to urge a reaction from Saiba but got nothing in return. Internally he tsk'ed, but shook off the small amount of frustration he was feeling at his thus far unimpressive round.

Naruto's body reacted almost off instinct as he felt his lead hand come into contact with Saiba's shoulder. That wasn't good. If he could touch him, especially as he shot to close the distance, then chances were Saiba could also touch him.

Luckily, Naruto's bladed stance allowed him to quickly slide in and out of range. He backed up just enough to find the perfect counter to Saiba's take down attempt.

As Saiba put himself at ranged, Naruto rotated his hips and threw a rear uppercut. He connected, but his timing was a beat off and his gloved hand smacked the older man on the forehead. It did however pause the advance, which left him open.

Saiba was slightly surprised, but was able to shake off the hit. That millisecond pause nearly made him pay as he just barely caught sight of the follow up lead hook that Naruto threw. He was able to just barely duck under the hook for a perfectly timed takedown. It was almost like watching GSP. Before Naruto knew it, his legs were taken from him and his back was driven harshly into the mat.

A shame that the blond had done all that to avoid the take down, only to have it be the reason he was taken down.

From there, there wasn't really much Naruto could do but try and work for position. He was far from his best on the ground, it was the worst aspect of his game if he had to admit it. The teen was horribly outclassed, but be that as it may, he was not defenseless.

Eventually he found himself ground in between the cage and Saiba, a very uncomfortable but prosperous position.

If he could use the fence properly, then he'd be able to scrape Saiba off of him.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The round clock beeped loudly before Naruto could set his plan in motion. "Rounds up boys!" Saiba quickly disengaged from Naruto and sat up, heavy breathing leaving his lips.

He patted Naruto on the leg and stood up fully, "Good rounds kid. You've got strong stand up, and good timing, if you'd had more time you probably could've got me with that uppercut. But your ground game needs work, it's noticeably lacking." He both complemented and criticized the teen as he stepped out of the cage and had his coaches unwrap his hands.

Naruto stood up as he saw Saiba taking his gear off, "Woah-Hold on a second, that was it? I can go a few more rounds if you want." To say Naruto was disappointed in his performance was an understatement. His pride simply wouldn't let him end on a losing note.

Saiba laughed and ran one of his free hands through his sweaty, brown, matted hair, "You might be able to go for more, but I can't. That was my eighth round kid, I'm fucking tired."

Before Naruto could reply, Hiruzen intervened. "He's needs rest Naruto. Saiba shouldn't have been training that hard today anyways, he's already halfway through his taper off period."

Naruto sucked his teeth before he turned away and laid down in the cage. He heard Saiba chuckle a bit as he left the area, no doubt to shower and take off for the day.

"You act like you aren't happy with how that went?" Hiruzen stated it almost as if it were a question.

Naruto tossed his orange headgear aside and looked at the standing man from his prone position, "Of course I'm not happy, I got my ass whooped." The teens eyebrows creased as he looked back on several details of the spar.

"You performed as well as you could've, don't forget, Saiba is a top 5 contender in the UFC. He's the real deal, cut yourself some slack why don't ya?"

"It's not like you could've won a round against my brother anyways Uzumaki. Saiba's got a title match coming up, his second one, so if you think you can fight on par with someone capable enough to consistently make it to the biggest stage in combat sports you're delusional."

Naruto's eyes darted over to the side of the cage before they rolled in annoyance at who it was. "Fuck you Kiba. Shouldn't you be training or something? Maybe learn to win a fight by finishing it, instead of praying for it to go to a split-decision?You're not even good enough to get a unanimous decision."

"I'll finish you Naruto, I'll get my gear on right now and we can go!" Kiba argued back.

"Finish me? You're not ganna do anything, but curl up and beg me to let you off the hook."

"I'll pound you!"

"Heh, I knew you were a bit suspect! Sorry man, I like girls." The blond mocked

"Enough, both of you! Kiba keep walking, your brother wanted to talk to you! And you, stop antagonizing people and go home! Now get on, both of you!"

Reluctantly, both boys did as told. There's was shit they had to do anyways.

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Naruto shut the door to his rather cheap apartment and placed the keys to his 'car' on a nearby table. The raggedy old machine whined and shook in ways that were unnatural for a vehicle to. It was an old piece of scrap but the AC worked and it got him from A to B. He would love to be driving an Audi or a sports car, but he wasn't in any place to be making purchases like that.

Pushing thoughts of his car out of his mind, he plopped down to his couch as his phone dinged with a notification. It was a message from Sara, "Hey, you don't have to pick me up at 5 today. I'm rehearsing a play for school! I won't get out till 7"

Naruto smiled lightly and nodded, though the younger girl couldn't see, "Alright, lmk when you're ready" He replied.

Naruto leaned back in his seat and exited his messages. He navigated the home screen out of pure boredom, before deciding that he'd check his instagram feed. He deftly clicked the little camera icon and watched as his phone lit up with photos.

Scrolling through, he noticed a familiar face. It was a photo of Saiba, posted by his gyms page. The photo was well taken and the quality was top notch, it was of the 20 something man posing with his hand up. A victory pose it appeared to be, 'Confidence in preparation. Hard work is a talent few are born with.' It was captioned.

Naruto nodded in agreement, hard work was a skill that you could not craft. He liked the photo and scrolled on. After a few photos of other fighters, promotions, and girls Naruto quickly grew bored.

With a final flick of his thumb, he scrolled down to what would be his last photo and hummed to himself at what he landed on. His foreign friend, Emilia.

He'd stood true to his word and had been her very first follower, and it seemed his prediction of quick fandom grew just as quick. It hadn't been even a month since Naruto left the UK and Emilia already had almost two thousand followers.

It left the blond in awe at how quickly she brought a crowd to her. Just plain charisma perhaps? Or maybe people were just swayed by her pretty face, he wondered. No, that wasn't quite fair. She was much more than a pretty face.

It was a simple picture of the brunette with a finger shushing her lips and winking playfully at the camera, 'Some real hush hush news coming soon! Stay tuned!'

Naruto lifted an eyebrow, a new role perhaps? He only said it jokingly, but maybe Triassic attack really was her break out film… Actually, now that he thought about it, the blond regretted not asking Emilia more about how she got into acting.

Considering his baby sister was more than interested in pursuing a career in the field, it would've been massively helpful if he could've gotten an idea on where to start.

Clicking his tongue, he put that at the back of his mind. Ah well, his sister was a resourceful girl and he had no doubt that she could do anything as long as she put in the time. Naruto pressed the little heart button on the bottom of the picture and locked his phone.

He was beginning to feel the feeling of fatigue catch up with him. He may not have gone hard at the gym, but his body still needed to rest. Naruto felt his eyes begin to droop as he sprawled out on his couch.

Now would be a great time to have a nap.

The blond barely shut his eyes before an alarm blared and shook from his position, nearly forcing him to fall off the couch he lay on. Wait, that wasn't his alarm, it was his ringtone. Scrambling for his cell he saw that it was his sister.

"Hello, Sara?" He answered

"Naruto! Where are you?!"

"I'm-"

"You were supposed to be here by now! Where are you?" Pulling back slightly, Naruto checked the time, 7:30 it read.

"7:30?! It felt like a blink, fuck!"

The teen internally cursed and placed his phone back to his ear, "I'm almost there Sara! Just some traffic is all!" The blond nearly tripped as he bolted out the door and hustled down the stairs of his apartment.

He narrowly missed his neighbor, luckily any collision was avoided. "Hey, what's the rush Naruto?"

"Sorry Nicole, gotta pick up Sara, super late!" He said as he ran out of her view.

The woman nodded in understanding, "Oh… Makes sense."

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The ride home had been normal, albeit awkward in the beginning given he'd left the girl outside her school all alone. Sara was understandably annoyed and frustrated at that, but luckily she had been able to put it behind her by the time they got back to the apartment.

"So, I was curious," Sara adjusted herself in her chair as she ate, "Have you looked over that school brochure I gave you?"

Naruto peaked at his sister from his spot on the couch with a raised brow, "The one about that school for the 'arts' right?"

The blond girl perked up, "Yea! My theater teacher said that it's got one of the best arts programs in the state!"

Naruto breathed in deeply through his nose and exhaled heavily, this was for sure ganna escalate into an argument. "I did, I already told you before though, we don't have the money for that kind of thing. It doesn't have to be a private school does it, What's wrong with a regular school?"

The girl look offended for moment. "Don't have the money? It's not even that much!"

"Sara, it's almost as much as our rent! That's not money I have to freely spend, I'm already working 6 nights out of the week and we can barely scrape by!"

"You only have to pay for each semester, I even read that they have a payment system! So it'll be cheaper! Why are you making this harder than it is?!" She shouted at him.

"I'm not making it harder than it is, you just don't understand how money works. It doesn't matter if they have a 'payment system' I still won't the money! I'm sorry, I just don't!" Naruto was really trying to explain to his younger sister that he wasn't saying this to be an asshat. He was saying it cause they truly didn't have the money.

Typically the young man trained during the day, then worked at a bar at night. He trained with the owners son, who managed the joint, and let him bartend even though he wasn't 18. He made decent money for what it was, but not nearly enough to live as comfortably as his sister thought they did. Not even enough to properly pay the bills. That's why he fought monthly, cause they literally needed the cash.

"And yet you have the money to pay for a fucking gym membership? How come you get to chase your 'dreams', but I can't? You're such a hypocrite!"

Naruto glared harshly at his younger sister. The girl flinched at the severity of it and seemed to shrink in on herself. "Oh I'm sorry, did you playing dress up at school help pay the bills?" He paused for moment, but received no answer, "I didn't think so. Finish eating and go to your room." He commanded.

Sara let out a shuddering breath and looked up at her brother. Her eyes full of tears and red from the saltiness of them, "I-I hate you!" With that said she stormed off to her room and slammed the door shut.

"Tsk!" Naruto clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes, "Whatever…" the teen did his best to brush the whole conversation off. He knew that his baby sister would get over it eventually and that her words were said purely in the heat of the moment.

However, that didn't mean they didn't hurt. He loved this girl with all his heart, and he wanted the very best for her. It hurt that he couldn't give her everything she wanted, it broke his heart to tell her to settle for less.

He shook his head off, "No. She'll never have to settle for less. Not if I can help it."

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"Ha, hai!"

The very next day Naruto was in the gym again. Currently he was doing his rounds on the water bag, working it like the professional he was.

He hit the bag with some light jabs and straights, before dipping under and landing a piercing uppercut. After his power shot landed, Naruto backed off almost as if he imagined the bag had arms.

The teen slipped an imaginary punch and countered with a heavy hook. The water bag, even though it absorbed hits better than a regular bag, shook and swayed. Reaching out with his lead hand, he steadied the large bag and hit it with a firm straight.

The blond stepped back and shuffled his feet, changing his stance from southpaw to orthodox and slid back into range.

He reached out with a lead hook and followed it up with a quick but powerful straight. The heavy bag swayed a bit and on its fall back Naruto timed a rear uppercut. It made a loud smacking sound and bounced for a moment before ultimately it was stilled.

Just as he was going to begin another combination, his beeper went off signaling the end of this particular training.

The teen let his hands drop and leaned his head back in an effort to catch his breath. He walked over to a nearby padded wall and slid down it, leaving a trail of sweat with it and took a seat. Naruto brought his glove up to his face and bit the velcro strap off and slid his hand out. His other hand soon followed, his fingers spreading wide to relieve them of their stiff feeling.

Naruto took a sip of water and leaned his sweaty head back against the wall. His eyes roamed lazily as he watched other trainees either hit pads or bags. Well most were striking, some were grappling, or even doing stretching.

His eyes lingered a little bit longer on the far side of the gym where a small crowd formed. Saiba had come into the gym today with a whole camera crew. What it was for he didn't know, but they were following the guy everywhere.

"Naruto boy!"

The teen glanced up and smiled as he saw his coach trot up to him, "I'm glad to see you're still here. I was afraid you'd left for the day."

"Hey old man! I've still got a couple of hours before work, so why not train a bit?"

The old man nodded in agreement, "Hm, yes but don't overdo it. Over training is worse than under training."

Naruto shrugged, he was young so he was sure he'd heal up in no time. "Say, I've been meaning to ask, but what's up with the entourage over there?" He asked gesturing to the crew around Saiba.

"That actually reminds me of why I came over here. Have you got your mouthpiece with you today?"

"Of course."

"Excellent. Well that crew is with the UFC, they're filming the embedded episodes to lead up to the title fight this weekend. Anyways, Saiba and his coaches wanted a spar. They requested you specifically…"

Naruto smiled challengingly, "Me specifically huh? Well I'm not one to turn down a fight, no matter the circumstance behind it."

Hiruzen shook his head, "I respect that spirit, but if I'm being 100% honest with you kid, I'd decline. They're looking for a lamb." He revealed.

Naruto scoffed as he stood up, "They wanna use me as a hypejob? We'll see about that. He seemed like a decent dude at first, guess you can't judge a book by it cover huh."

Both fighter and trainer walked over to the octagon they had in the gym for sparring and got set up. Hiruzen had retrieved all the gear that was necessary from Naruto's gym bag; mouth guard, shin guard and his sparring gloves. The decided to forgo the headgear.

They wanted to use 12 oz. gloves since Saiba's fight was less than a week away, not that Naruto really cared. He'd fight bare knuckle if they wanted to, but now that he really thought about it, thicker gloves worked in his favor.

It would be hard for Saiba to hook his legs and get a takedown with his fingers trapped inside the gloves.

Finally all geared up, Naruto just waited for Saiba to finish putting on all his stuff. He didn't have to wait long as the older man finished up quick enough.

Hiruzen put Naruto's mouthguard in, but not before offering some words, "Keep your distance and fight long. Saibas real strength is his wrestling, his striking just isn't on the same level. That said, don't underestimate it, just pick your shots calmly."

The blond nodded at his coach bounced on his toes. The cage was shut as Hiruzen stepped out and He immediately went into the rules.

They were ganna spar for the full 5 minutes, but only do two rounds and then rest.

Both parties nodded and they got set for the beeper to signal the start of the round. As Naruto waited his eyes caught the large camera pointed his way, the blond smiled and stuck his tongue out, "Watch close." He spoke to it just as the beep went off.

Naruto did exactly the opposite of what Hiruzen advised and immediately took center cage. He already had a basic feel for Saiba due to their skirmish the other day, so he felt no need to feel him out.

Saiba on the other hand came out much slower, he was almost surprised at the younger mans enthusiasm but had prepared for it. His coaches had told him to expect on aggressive start but stay patient.

'Yea right.' Saiba thought. Sure the blond was good for his age, but he was no contender and he certainly didn't warrant that much caution. Not that he didn't have respect for the younger trainee, he just had too much respect for himself. Not only that, but the UFC cameras were here. How would it look if he fought so conservatively against a kid that was barely pro?

So, he stalked forward and when he got close enough feinted a jab and dipped his hips, ready to take the kid down. However, things didn't go exactly as planned.

Naruto didn't bite on the feint and the moment he saw Saiba dip his hips, he fired a roundhouse kick to the body. The slapping sound of the leather padding echoed loudly as Saiba let the shin bounce off his forearm and backed up momentarily, surprised at the move.

By pure instinct alone the UFC fighter was able to see the kick last second and halted his takedown attempt. Had he tried to follow through, the kick would have caught him clean on the head, might have even knocked him out.

Saiba looked up to Naruto face, only to see a slim smirk on the teens face, "You didn't think I'd let things go down that quick did ya? Let's have some fun standing up."

Saiba scoffed and mirrored his smirk, "Heh, not everything's ganna go your way. That's the fight business." The older man saw that he was trapped between the cage and his sparring partner and, feeling a bit petty, threw a kick of his own.

It was meant to be a low power leg kick, that would force Naruto to respect him a bit more, but the blond was able to read it easily enough and slid just out of range.

Seeing his opponent was off balance, Naruto took a large step in and pumped a long jab. It landed just barely, but right behind it was a powerful left.

His punch bounced off Saibas guard but the impact was not only heard but clearly felt by it target. The No. 2 contender was experienced though and his ring IQ was phenomenal. The man, took the shot on the glove and rolled with the impact to lessen it.

Peeking through his guard he saw Naruto loading up for another punch, and swung a check left hook from his orthodox stance. The hook missed but it gave him enough room to circle out from his trapped position.

He circled out left and ended up just to side of Naruto's lead hand, this was a favorable position he realized. Instead of head hunting, Saiba played it smart and aimed a low punch at the body.

He connected cleanly and he pulled his head back just in time to dodge a counter attempt made by Naruto.

Seeing that he'd lost some positioning, Naruto adjusted and made his way back to the center of the cage. He was looking to keep this round in Saiba's corner, cutting off the cage at every opportunity he could.

The blond stayed aggressive, keeping his opponent at the end of his punches with kicks and light knees to the body when he dared get too close. The knees were a bit dangerous he found when Saiba wrapped his arms around one that he'd tried to land on his ribs.

Naruto was able to stifle the attempt, but he didn't really think that Saiba was truly going for the completion. Was he trying to tire him out, he wondered. Who knew, there was still plenty of time to fight though and a whole nother round after this one.

Naruto was once again able to trap Saiba between himself and the fence. This time though he was a bit more calculating, he probed with a front kick and dug the ball of his foot into Saiba's stomach. Seeing the man hunch over just a bit, Naruto smiled.

The blond threw an corkscrew jab (it's basically an upside down jab) with his lead hand and split Saibas guard, finding it to be successful he lowered his stance and rotated his hips to place a powerful left smack center of the face.

The punch landed and snapped Saiba's head back roughly, but the man made no signs that he was hurt or even affected by the blow. Internally Naruto felt a smidge of disappointment, was this really what a top contender in the UFC fought like? Sure their first session was a bit rough for him, but know that he'd had more than 10 minutes to really feel the guy out, he was a bit underwhelmed.

The surrounding spectators were silent as Naruto peppered Saiba with with hooks, jabs, and cross'. Whether it was in pure awe or horror, he didn't know or care to know.

Seeing that his opponent was just covering up, Naruto wound up and looped his fist for a wide left hook.

This turned out to be just the opportunity Saiba was waiting for, the older man dropped his hips low and swung his own powerful left hook. Simultaneously he dipped his head just out of the way of Naruto's power hook, just the whipping air felt like it could break skin. The contender could only imagine what it would be like if he got hit by it.

With Naruto's punch having missed, the weight behind it carried him into Saiba's counter left hook. The punch slapped harshly against Naruto face and the force behind it through him slightly off balance.

The blond stumbled back in surprise but quickly regained his footing, the hit was hard and clean. But he could shook the cobwebs off and moved his head away from a follow up right.

Before Saiba could capitalize anymore the timer beeped loudly and Naruto dropped his hands. Both fighters stared at each other for a moment while, the trainer rushed in with stools to simulate an actual fight.

Saiba held his hands up and shrugged, "Yea? That what you wanted?" He questioned.

Naruto smiled and uncharacteristically antagonized his gym mate, "You hit like a pussy." With that said he walked away to his corner and sat on a stool Hiruzen provided for him.

"That didn't really seem necessary, this wasn't supposed to be a competitive spar. And you didn't even take my advice!" Hiruzen spoke as he took out Naruto mouth guard. The blond spit into a bucket as the guard was taken out and noticed the red color.

'Damn, he cut my gums."

"Yea, I'm just trying to blow off a little bit of steam. Between them trying to use me as a fucking stepping stone, and Sara, I've got some stress to let loose. And besides, if we went at it easy, it wouldn't really benefit anyone would it?" He questioned.

"I see… Well either way, if Saiba takes too much damage and has to pull out, that's on you. I guess if you'll continue to go at it like this, I might as well do some coaching. You're doing well keeping him at bay with your kicks, it's probably been ingrained in him to body block. Try mixing in some head kicks, just remember not to go too hard."

Naruto nodded and took his mouth piece back into his mouth, "Sure thing. Let's have some fun."

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Naruto gently rubbed his sore jaw and then ran a hand through his messy hair. He made sure not touch the light swelling and bruising around his right eye as it was tender.

The spar he'd had with Saiba had gotten much more intense than it was intended to. The older man had turned it up a few notches in that second round and really tried to pile it on him.

Luckily Naruto was nimble and was able to see most shots long before they could hit. But what he did get hit with were real bombs, the blond imagined if they were wearing 4 oz Gloves he might've been knocked out. Aside from that, Naruto got his hits in as well and overall the sparring session proved to be a telling experience for the teen.

Saiba had decided to forgo any wrestling and just stood with Naruto for their rounds. Despite the fact that Hiruzen had said, "He's just not on your level" it seemed like it was largely untrue.

The elder man was more or less on par with him and hit like a truck, as it happened though, Naruto's particular skill set made him a challenging stand up fight for almost anyone.

So to make a long story shorter, Naruto once again got his ass beat. And while it wasn't as one sided as some would've have imagined, that was only because Saiba humored the kid and stood with him the entirety of their session.

"Hey barkeep! Another shot over here!"

Naruto sighed as he was putting some glass cups away. It was already 2:30 AM and this fucker was still here, the bar closed at 2…

"Listen man, we're closed. We closed 30 minutes ago, I'm only letting you stay in here until your ride comes to get you."

"If that's the case, then what's the harm in one more shot? Hmmmm?" The guy drunkenly debated.

Naruto thought for a moment but honestly couldn't find a fault in the man's reasoning. Shrugging he reached under the counter and pulled out a bottle whisky, "Fine, here's your shot-" just before he began to pour it, the teen looked over at the drunken only to find him dead asleep on the bar top.

Naruto clicked his tongue and placed the bottle back under the counter. So much for one last shot.

The teen had finished cleaning up and went around the bar and sat a seat or two away from his knocked out companion, the owner had gone home and left Naruto with the keys. Seeing as he was friends with his kid, he trusted the blond enough to lock up for the night.

Maybe trust was the wrong word… If anything was missing or got fucked up, the owner knew where he'd be.

Naruto didn't have to wait all that long until he heard the doors opening and shutting. Swiveling on his stool he turned to see a pretty blonde girl walk in hurriedly.

"Uhm, excuse me…?"

"You're Whitney?"

"Yes, and you are…?"

"Naruto, we spoke on the phone."

Whitney oh'ed in realization and nodded her head, she walked to the man she came to pick up and tried to shake him awake. She failed, but kept trying her hand.

"I don't think that's ganna work, he's had a LOT to drink. Probably best if we carry him to the car." Naruto suggested.

Whitney looked up and couldn't help but agree. Now that she got a closer look though, she couldn't help but notice the bruising on the side of the bartenders face, "Oh my god, he didn't do that to you did he?" She asked concerned.

The teen raised an eyebrow in confusion before it hit him, "What this?" He pointed at the bruising, "Goodness no, I'm a fighter. I had some rough sparring today is all." He clarified as he snaked one of the unconscious man's arms over his shoulders.

Whitney sighed in relief as she did the same, that would've been awkward. On an unspoken count to three, the two stood up and were able to easily pick the dead weight up. Slowly, but steadily, they walked through the doors and to the only other car in the lot.

Naruto carefully opened up the backseat doors and leaned the man in as comfortably as he could.

"So you're a fighter? That's cool, I'm still in college, but I do some professional wake surfing!"

Naruto perked up a bit, surprised that she started a conversation. He grunted a bit as he tried adjusted the other man's limp body but carried the conversation on, "Sounds fun, must hurt like hell if you fall though. Am I right?"

"Hehe, yea. The trick is to just not suck. Likewise, I imagine it must not feel great to get punched in the head, right?" She teased

Naruto chuckled and stood back up as he fastened the guy down with a seat belt. "Well, as you could imagine, the trick is to not suck." He said playfully.

Whitney giggled and shut her rear car door, "Thanks for helping out, I don't think I could've brought him out here by myself."

"Yea, for such a small guy, your boyfriend is a heavy man."

Whitney laughed loudly and shuddered in disgust, "Ew, boyfriend? No way, that's my brother!"

Naruto felt a bit embarrassed that he'd been caught assuming, but laughed it off with the girl. "So, your single…?"

"Well I didn't say that."

"Oh-"

"-But I am."

"Oh!"

Whitney walked around to her car door and stepped in, "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in combat sports. Who knows, maybe you can show me a few things?"

Naruto smiled and leaned down, "I'll tell you what, drop by my gym and check it out. If you like it, I'm sure we can work something out." He handed her a card that had the gyms address and phone number on it and stepped away as Whitney shut her door.

Whitney rolled her window down, getting ready to say her final words, "I'll hold you to that. Anyways, thanks again, I owe you one!"

Naruto nodded and smiled, "Don't mention it, I'm happy to help. I hope I see you at the gym, there's plenty for me to teach." He smirked as Whitney smiled and shook her head.

"Goodbye Naruto." With that said she drove off, leaving Naruto all alone in the parking lot.

That certainly could've gone a lot worse, he half expected some pissed off mother to come in picking up their drunk son. Fortunately it was a pretty blond around his age instead.

Naruto walked back to the bar doors and locked them, he gave them a pull to make sure they were locked proper and walked over to his car.

Damn, this night didn't turn out all that bad.

 ** _~Fin~_**

 **Alright y'all that's that for this next chapter. We're back in the good old US of A and got our first taste of what goes on in the gym. Originally I didn't wanna have a ton of other Naruto characters in here but in certain situations I just can't help it.**

 **Most of them will end up being side characters, like Kiba was was an accessory to Saiba. And while we're talking about it, what did you think of Saiba? Was he too bland? Or was he too similar to Kiba?**

 **Saiba is an OC I created for this story, I just wanted there to be a little bit of a connection other than just having them attend the same gym. Personally I feel like making him Kiba's big brother adds another level of competition, but I guess we'll figure that out as the story goes on.**

 **As far as Whitney goes, just a little experiment. I think I want Emilia to be the end game for the pairing, but right now I don't really have a way to reunite them, at least not for a while. But if things go that route, I have it all planned out.**

 **And even if they do end up together, what's wrong with a bit of side dating? It's only natural that both parties have prior relationships.**

 **I hope y'all liked the small fights I had here, I didn't wanna have the chapter be purely dialogue, cause I'm not that great at it, lol. But I hope you envisioned it in a similar manner I did.**

 **Oh and don't mistake Saiba getting tee'd off on as he's weak. Remember that he's almost at his peak fatigue for a training camp; weight cutting, stress, media, all that shit adds up. So was he getting beat up for a moment yes, but he got his licks in too.**

 **Anyhow, that's the chapter. Hopefully I'll be able to conjure up the next in a more timely fashion with a bit more length.**

 **Peace!**


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